Cash sales for homes dips again in Tacoma, Lakewood

Fewer buyers are paying cash for homes both nationally and in the South Sound.

The real estate data service CoreLogic reported this week that cash sales in the Tacoma-Lakewood were down in May compared with the same period last year and stands at 17.3 percent, a 1.6 percentage point decrease over the year.

The cash sales share in Tacoma-Lakewood area was lower than the 30 percent national rate, which was down 2.5 percentage points year-over-year. On a month-over-month basis, the cash sales share fell nationally by 1.7 percentage points in May compared with April.

For the first five months of 2016, the cash sales share averaged 33 percent, the lowest start to any year since 2008. The cash sales share peaked in January 2011 when cash transactions accounted for 46.6 percent of total home sales nationally, a CoreLogic release stated. Before the housing crisis, the cash sales share of total home sales averaged approximately 25 percent. If the cash sales share continues to fall at the same rate it did in May 2016, the share could reach 25 percent by mid-2018.

According to the latest figures, Alabama had the largest cash sales share of any state at 45.2 percent, followed by New York (45.1 percent), Florida (42.4 percent), New Jersey (36.4 percent) and Indiana (36 percent). Of the nation's largest 100 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) measured by population, Detroit-Dearborn-Livonia, Michigan had the highest cash sales share at 53.4 percent, followed by West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach, Florida (52.3 percent), Philadelphia, (52 percent), North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida (50.3 percent) and Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida (49.3 percent). Syracuse, New York had the lowest cash sales share at 13.7 percent.

This story was originally published August 26, 2016 at 2:05 PM with the headline "Cash sales for homes dips again in Tacoma, Lakewood."